South Africa tops list: most unhealthy country in the world

Hold on before consuming that burger … South Africa has been ranked as the most unhealthy country in the world. A global health ranking has identified South Africa as the most unhealthy country in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organisation.

The ranking is based on ten measures, which are life expectancy, blood pressure, blood glucose, obesity, depression, happiness, alcohol and tobacco use, inactivity and government spending on healthcare, according to Business Insider.

The Indigo Wellness Index compiled by Richard Davies at economics consultancy Bloomsbury Economics calculated a ratio to asses how close each country was to the best score overall – the worst score being 0, while the best score was 1.

South Africa was ranked the most unhealthy, with Canada coming out tops as the most healthy in the world. The health organisation showed that South Africans had a 26% chance of dying from cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases between the ages of 30 and 70.

The organisation also found that more than 28% of adults were obese – the highest obesity rate among sub-Saharan African countries.

Here are some of the countries, from healthy to most unhealthy:

18. Samoa — 0.41. Blood glucose levels, obesity, and binge drinking put this Oceanic country into the top 20.

18. Dominican Republic — 0.41. High levels of depression, drinking, and blood pressure gave this Caribbean nation an identical score.

18. Egypt — 0.41. Less government spending on healthcare, higher diabetes risk, and obesity levels gave Egypt its spot tied for 18.

16. Jamaica — 0.40. The Caribbean island of Jamaica scored poorly across a number of measures, including obesity, state spending, smoking, depression, and blood glucose.

16. Latvia — 0.40. Blood pressure and binge drinking were to blame for Latvia’s place in the top 20.

14. Trinidad and Tobago — 0.39. Depression, blood pressure, and blood glucose received poor scores for this dual-island Caribbean nation.

14. Serbia — 0.39. This Balkan country scored poorly due to lack of exercise and alarming blood pressure scores.

12. Ukraine — 0.38. Depression and blood pressure were the categories that scored poorly here.

12. Lithuania — 0.38. The same two categories — depression and blood pressure — also put this European country in the tied 12th spot.

9. Georgia — 0.37. A number of categories stood out for Georgia, including diet (high levels of obesity and blood glucose), depression, and binge drinking.

9. Iraq — 0.37. Inactivity, low life expectancy, lack of state spending, low levels of happiness, and high levels of obesity were the most concerning factors here.

9. Haiti — 0.37. Haiti scored poorly on happiness, state spending, and life expectancy.

8. Central African Republic — 0.36. Life expectancy and state spending were the standout categories for this Central African country.

7. Armenia – 0.35. This Asian country is the seventh most unhealthy due to its blood glucose, blood pressure, and depression scores.

5. Barbados — 0.34. It may seem idyllic, but this Caribbean country had alarming scores across a wide range of categories, including blood pressure, depression, obesity, inactivity, and binge drinking.

5. Micronesia (Federated States of) — 0.34. Obesity, drinking, and low government spending on health put Micronesia in tied 5th place.

4. Bulgaria — 0.33. Sunny Beach may look like the perfect holiday spot, but its home of Bulgaria is the fourth most unhealthy in the world due to blood pressure, depression, and drinking

3. Kiribati — 0.31. Obesity is the biggest concern here, putting the Oceanic country in third place.

2. Saint Lucia — 0.29. Binge drinking, blood pressure, and blood glucose scores made Saint Lucia the second most unhealthy country in the world.

1. South Africa — 0.28. Scoring poorly on all measures, its scores on obesity, drinking, and life expectancy, in particular,make it the most unhealthy country in the world in 2019.

Health expert Giulia Criscuolo said the statistics were a wake-up call for the country to make the necessary changes.

Speaking on eNCA, she said keeping one’s diet as close to nature as possible was the first step.

“We tend to live in a culture of fast food and convenience because we’re stressed and we do not have time to prepare food. So we often go to our local take away[s] and get fast food meals.

“What people need to do is to become more aware of when they go shopping for food. What are they buying? If they buy a boxed item – look at the ingredients.”

She said having more fruit and vegetables was a way forward towards a healthier system.

“We need to move more,” she added, as people that were obese often put a strain on the health system as they were often sick or needed medication do go about their daily lives.

“The impact is huge.”

(Compiled by Gopolang Chawane)

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